Indoor tennis court



Oct. 18, 1932. G. HADDEN ET AL INDOOR TENNIS COURT Filed Feb. 21, 1930 INVENTORS.

r Patented Oct. 18, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT I OFFICE-1,.

GAVIN HADIDEN, OF NEW YORK, AND CHARLES A. HOLDEN; NEW ROCHELLE, NEW

YORK; SAID HOLDEN ASSIGNOR TO SAIIJHADDEN i INDOOR TENNIS COURT Application filed. February 21, 1930. Serial No. 430,198.

This invention relates to indoor tennis courts, and aims to combine with the playing surface of one or more tenni courts an economical enclosing structure providing space for the flight of the tennis balls.

In indoor tennis court structures, it has been customary heretofore to follow the construction which is most economical in buildings for other purposes by locating the supporting arches or trusses of the roof transversely of the playing surface so as to make them as short as possible. In such structures, the maximum headroom may not extend all the way along the net, while, on the other hand, it is carried to and beyond the back lines ofthe court. The result has been either that the headroom has been inadequate at the net or that an unnecessarily large space has'been enclosed with an unnecessary area of walls, resulting in loss and waste.

These difficulties and disadvantages are avoided by our invention in accordance with which the playing surface is combined with an enclosing structure which provides adequate room for the flight of the balls without waste of space or of wall and roofing ma.-

, terials.

The nature of our invention may best be understood by a detailed description of the specific embodiment thereof which is shown in the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a horizontal section taken on the line 11 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1; and

Figs. 3 and 4 are transverse sections taken on the lines 38 and 4 1- of Figs. 1 and2.

In the drawing, 10 represents a horizontal layer of asphalt, or other suitable material, providing an oblong playing surface some what larger than the area included within the marking lines 11 of a tennis court. The usual net 12 is provided along the transverse middle line of the playing surface.

The playing surface is enclosed by a struc ture which includes a supporting arch 13 ex tending longitudinally over the playing surface, and preferably having its ends resting on foundations 14 just beyond the ends of the playing surface 10. The supporting arch 13 may consist of girders as illustrated, or be nect with short vertical end walls 16 located between the ends of the arch and the ends of the playing surface. The enclosure is com-v pleted by vertical side walls 17 extending from the side edges of the playing surface and having curved upper edges connecting with the side edges of the roof.

In this tennis court structure, the lines of the roof follow almost exactly the parabolic flight of the balls. There is no waste space or waste of wall and roofing materials, since the greatest headroom extends completely across the transverse middle line, that is, the net line, of the playing surface where headroom is needed, while the roof is low all the way across the end portions of the playing surface where no great headroom is necessary. The enclosure may be extended laterally to include playing surface for more than one court.

A further advantage and economy is obtained by making the side walls, or at least the upper portions thereof, translucent, as

by constructing them of glass panes 18 sup danger of leakage, but also eliminates the ex- 7 pense of clearing snow and ice from the skylights in order to permit daylight playing in the winter.

What is claimed 1s; An -1ndoor tennis court structure, comprls- 7 ing an oblong horizontal floor having a shape and dimensions corresponding to the playing surface for a standard tennis court, an opaque roof arching longitudinally over said floor from one end thereof to the other and having its greatest height along the transverse middle line of said floor, and translucent vertical side Walls connecting the side edges of the of so as to enclose the space necessary for the flight of tennis balls with a minand roof surface, and to provide 5 for lighting of the enclosed tennis court Withfloor and r0 imum Wall out glare.

In testim our hands.

ony whereof Wehave hereunto set GAVIN HADDEN. CHARLES A. HOLDEN. 

